Updates

Yesterday, I went to a CLE and it was so incredibly boring. I wanted to fall asleep so badly. I thought of my babies the whole time - that and sleep. I wonder how I'm going to be when I go back to work in a few short days. Not looking forward to it though I'm ready in a lot of ways to go back. The CLE was at the Seattle Center and it's weird to walk through the Center when it's so empty - I think I've only been there when there is some sort of festival going on.

After the CLE, Jon and I went to go visit the day care where our babies will go starting November 1. I so wish I could pay someone I know to watch the babies rather than a stranger but I suppose we'll get to know this person better. She said that she had tried calling us but our number was disconnected...oops - I forgot that she didn't have our cell phone #s but only our home number which we don't have anymore.

Then last night came the night where Benjamin just fussed pretty much the entire night and we have no idea why. We changed him, fed him, clothed him appropriately, but he still fussed. He refused to sleep. He didn't get much sleep last night and neither did we. And last night was our first night of putting the babies into the cribs - Benjamin never made it to the crib. Ella slept in there 'til 1:30 - not very long for her sleeping at night but pretty long for her to sleep in the crib!
Hopefully, tonight will go a little (or a lot) better.

Today, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law came to watch the babies for me for 6 hours. I went and got some more A*vent bottles as we're going to switch the babies over to those bottles exclusively. I was using the Med*ela ones for feeding breast milk, but Benjamin doesn't seem to want to eat from those so we're going to use the A*vent ones. More bottles to clean, but oh well. I also got to have lunch with my husband and go to a 90 minute massage - they are never long enough! It was so nice of them to do this. I did think of my babies often though! After the massage, I picked up some pictures I ordered of the babies to put into their baby books. I still have some to order but since Benjamin was so fussy last night, I didn't get to order all that I wanted to and I messed up on the order and ordered the wrong picture of the four of us to send out in my thank you cards to the hospital nurses and the fertility clinic. Oh well - it's a picture of the four of us, so it will do.

Well, I think I just heard Ella, so I should go check on her. I think she napped a total of 20 minutes that time. Yesterday, she did nap for 2 hours in her crib - that's the kind of nap I wish she would take every day! O.K. off to check on babies!

30 weeks 1 day

Just waking up from a much needed nap. My dad and my brother went off downtown to do some stuff - it would have been nice to go with them (especially since the weather is so nice in Seattle), but I need to be taking it easy and my feet were already looking rather swollen. I hope they get back here for dinner so we can go out before my dad leaves and Jon and I go to our 5th childbirth class - tonight we're talking about c-sections which will probably be what we have. I did sign up for a separate c-section class today as it seems we're heading that way - that class they seem to only want to offer in the middle on the day or early afternoon - which, I guess, is o.k. now since I won't be working when this class is scheduled to take place (on the 24th).

To answer Kirsten's question, I have the FFN test every 2 weeks. I'm also having ultrasounds every 2 weeks too. It does seem like a lot, but I appreciate it - especially after the last FFN test result. Our next ultrasound is tomorrow afternoon with the OB appointment the next morning.

Glucose, OB, PT and more (27 weeks 4 days)

Well, I just found out the results today for my first glucose test…I failed. So next Tuesday at 8 a.m., I will have to go through the fasting 3-hour test. It shall be a fun time (so much sarcasm in that statement). Not sure what I will do with myself in between the blood draws – bring a good book? Ask a friend to join me in that boredom, as I’m sure Jon won’t be able to come? Probably shouldn’t do that last one – it will be too boring – I wouldn’t subject someone on purpose to that amount of boredom.

I also have an OB appointment that afternoon, so I’m taking the whole day off work. I’m hoping nothing has changed in my cervix length since last week - otherwise, the OB may just push for bedrest. Not that I love going to work, but I’d like to be able to go at least one more month before I have to leave work. I’ll do whatever the OB says, of course.

Last night, Jon and I went to another class. This one was all about coping with labor pains in different ways including with breathing, food, and smells. The teacher tortured us (both of us – the husbands weren’t getting off that easy) with trying out these coping techniques by making us hold ice in our hands for the length of a contraction. I found that what worked the best for me (though didn’t necessarily work all that well) were hard candies and really strong perfume smells – those I found somewhat distracting. The others not at all.

Today’s PT appointment went really well – she showed me some more exercises, and then came the best part – a massage. She seemed to know exactly where I needed the pressure – it felt so incredibly good.

This weekend isn’t nearly as busy as prior weekends, thank goodness. We have our tour of the hospital tonight. Tomorrow, I have nothing planned, but I may go to the Seattle Public Library sale to see I can find some children’s books (I have enough books for myself though I doubt I’ll be able to resist looking for books for me – we’ll see how I feel). On Sunday, we are going to a preparing for postpartum class at the hospital – luckily, it is just for 2 hours. I may go to the book sale this day rather than Saturday since books are ½ off the already cheap price.

Sometime this weekend, we need to clean up a couple of our rooms for our guests coming into town next weekend for my shower so they have a place to sleep. Up until now, those two rooms have been places to put things until I found a permanent place to put them. My brother is also coming to live with us in early May so we need one of the rooms cleaned for him too.

Wow, that makes it seem busy, but it doesn’t seem that bad considering what the past weekends have been like. Anyway, have a great weekend everyone!

27 weeks 3 days

So for some reason, I’ve been feeling a little nauseous again – particularly in the morning. Not sure what that’s about, but it can go away again please… I’ve also started having bloody noses.

Last night, after resting for a while, I got up and went to Dr. Google to find out exactly what is “normal” for cervix length around 27 weeks. I didn’t find much that wasn’t some abstract of some medical article – not exactly helpful. Places I did find said something about a 17% of having a preemie if the cervix is around 2 cm or that the babies could come around week 34 – but that’s for a singleton, I’m sure. So the information I found wasn’t very useful. While searching, some sites said that the third trimester begins at week 28, while others say 27…

Tonight, my husband and I are going to yet another class – this one called “coping with confidence” – I can’t remember exactly what that is about. Speaking of classes, I see that my hospital has finally decided to start a multiples class to compete with UW – not until July (I think), but better late than never, I guess.

Tomorrow night, my husband and I are going to tour the hospital we plan to have our babies at (though I’ve already had a mini-tour from a doctor friend). Tomorrow is also my 2nd PT appointment.

Childbirth Prep Class # 1 (26 weeks 2 days)

The first class of the Childbirth Prep class was pretty good though some of it was stuff that they talked about at the multiples class I went to at UW. All of the couples went around and introduced themselves and said how the pregnancy was going so far. Pretty much every woman there has some discomfort, including the biggest one – heartburn. We wondered exactly how many Tums a pregnant woman can take…of course, for me, my OB doesn’t want me taking Tums (though I occasionally do since it works so fast) but instead I should take Zantac. If I remember to take Zantac before my dinner, I don’t wake up with horrible heartburn in the middle of the night. If I forget though, Zantac doesn’t work fast enough, so I take Tums.

I noticed that I had, what seemed to be, the biggest tummy there despite being the one with the last due date in the group. Some women were due in May and my tummy looked bigger. One of the ladies there last night was also in my exercise class and she told me that she was thinking before she saw my face and recognized me that she thought for sure I was further along than she was, but then she saw my face and remembered that my husband and I are having twins. I don’t feel huge, but I certainly look bigger than the women with singletons. Yikes – can you only imagine how huge I’m going to be when this is all done? I’m curious how much longer I’ll be sitting at my desk at work!

One thing that the teacher mentioned was that she plans to have a party for everyone to get together again 4-6 weeks after the due date of the couple with the last due date (that would be us). That should be fun. That’s something that I think the multiples class should have done. Speaking of, I got an e-mail the other day from one of the members of the multiples class I went to and she went to 39 ½ weeks with her twins – I thought that 38 weeks was the max for twins, but I guess not! Her sons are quite cute!

Emotional Today (well, everyday) (25 weeks)

For those of who are still trying to conceive – this probably isn’t the post for you…

I’m sitting here at work crying. I can’t stop the tears from coming down, which sucks since I’m at work!!! I am seriously freaked out about finding a good day care for a price that we can afford and now someone is basically telling me we’re selfish for having to go to a day care. We want these children so badly. We would love to stay home with them, but that just isn’t a realistic option for us. Did we make the wrong decision to go forward with IVF and go forward with having twins or even one baby at all? Some people think we're bad people for using IVF when I could “just adopt” or live child-free and now we're bad people for having to put my infants into a day care? I hope that everyone realizes how hard this will be for me. What if I make the wrong decision and place them in a day care that will be bad for them emotionally or physically? I’ve already made several poor decisions in my life (there are only a few good ones), including going to law school and taking out loans to pay for it all, so it is all too likely I will make another poor decision.

I’m already freaked out about having everything done for these babies for when they come and freaked out about taking care of them especially when I’m at home alone, do I need something else to be freaked out about?



Well, maybe if I write about something positive, then maybe I stop being so emotional. Over the weekend, I went to a friend’s baby shower and her cutie pie son was there (he’s about 7 weeks old). Holding him in my arms was so wonderful. Another friend brought her almost 3-week-old son with her and he is such a cutie pie too. It was a really fun baby shower. I look forward to going to another friend’s shower on the 14th. I have my first shower this coming weekend that I’m looking forward to – though my body is not so much looking forward to the drive over to Spokane.

The visit with Jon’s parents on Saturday was good too. Jon and his dad put together the other crib. Now we just need the rest of the room done and we’ll be set. There is no way I’m getting the house ready by 30 weeks as people have suggested we do. I’m at 25 weeks now and most weekends this month will be busy, as will the weekdays. Luckily, even though Jon is back in class as of tonight, he’s only in class 2 nights a week. Sunday’s CPR class was good – though scary. The safety part of the class was good too in that she told us what things aren’t needed so I took some things off my registry. We also picked up some things from a professor at Jon’s work – some girl clothes and some other things (we haven’t looked through everything yet) – so that was really nice. Then after that, we went and played some Wii games at a friend’s house. My favorite was bowling and cow racing. :-)

I just felt one of the babies move… still love that feeling so much – I just hope I can be a good mom to them.

Class & Baby Movements (24 weeks 4 days)

The breastfeeding class last night at the hospital was a good one, but it is still freaking me out. I don’t know if I’ll be able to feed both of the babies at the same time though it would be nice if I could. I think both the hospital one and the UW one are pretty good. The hospital one they gave us dolls to pretend we were feeding our babies – so, of course, she gave us two. It was a bit strange as everyone else has just one. They did all saw “awww” when they heard that we are having twins. Then we watched a video of multiple women feeding their babies. I’m going to try my best to breastfeed our babies.

So last night I did end up feeling one of the babies move around – I’m pretty sure it was the girl. I coughed and I think that startled her as she started to move around quite a bit. I thanked her for the reassurance that gave me. Our baby boy might have moved a little last night too. :-D

One thing that bugged me a bit last night was that I had this constant pain under the top part of my ribs that would bug me each time I lifted up my left arm which I do a bit lately to steady myself when I get out of bed. With the soreness in my inner thigh, it makes the first few steps a little wobbly. And for the past couple days, I am finding it difficult to lift up my leg which causes a bit of a problem when drying my leg after getting out of the shower or when trying to put on some pants. I’ve pretty much given up on putting on my own socks – I need some help with that one. I’m hoping when my PT appointment comes around, she is able to help me with my walking and leg lifting issues as well as my back and hips.

Tomorrow is the first of many baby showers I’m going to. Then in the afternoon tomorrow, Jon’s parents are coming up to visit with us. On Sunday, Jon and I are going to the Infant CPR class given by the hospital, then after that, we’re meeting up with some friends to play some games on their Wii. Before the class, vanpool girl is coming over to bring a swing that her son doesn’t use anymore. That’s pretty much our weekend. At some point this weekend, I need to find some kitty food that isn’t a part of the recall or pretty much anything that isn’t manufactured by Menu Foods. My kitties are expecting their wet food for dinner and I don’t feel comfortable giving it to them even if their food wasn’t part of the original recall.

Anyway, that’s all for now. Have a good weekend everyone!

Anxious & Update (24 weeks 3 days)

I’m a little anxious and concerned today. I haven’t felt the babies move in a while and it is making me anxious. I’m sure they are o.k., but their movements give me some reassurance that everything is truly o.k. so when they don’t move, I start to freak out. My next ultrasound and OB appointment wasn’t supposed to be until April 18, but the OB had to reschedule so now I’m seeing her a day early. I couldn’t get the ultrasound on the same day as she likes so I’m seeing the ultrasound people the day before on the 16th. At least, I get to see them 2 days earlier than expected. I don’t know if I can wait that long though.

Because of the above, I’m finding it hard to concentrate on my work though I still have lots to do. It would be helpful though if people responded to my phone calls and e-mails.

Oh, the Zantac seemed to have worked better last night. I took one before going to bed as that’s when it usually happens and I didn’t wake up to heartburn as usual. So yay! I’m still getting up every 2 hours to go to the bathroom though. Another thing that I’ve forgotten to mention is that my inner thighs are sore – not sure why – I thought maybe it was the pillow between my legs but I took that away and they’re still hurting. Makes it difficult to walk for a little while right after getting up from laying or sitting.

Tonight will be another busy night – Jon and I are going to a breastfeeding class through our hospital. It will be interesting to compare it to the UW one with multiples.

To answer Jaimie’s question from one of my last posts, my parents are doing better. My dad is back to working (though not at his old job as that involved a lot of standing). He lost quite a bit of weight since he’s been out of the hospital, which is good, but at one point the medication they had him was working too well in getting out fluids so he was cramping in his legs – they took him off that medication, I believe. My mom is also doing well – though her kidney doctor was a bit of an ass to her, I think. Just total lack of bedside manner and any tact.

Well, that’s about it for now. Just trying to get through this workday – hopefully, the afternoon goes by quickly!

23 weeks & 4 days - U/S & OB Appointment

The ultrasound went very well this morning - both babies are bigger than what they should be at 23 weeks & 4 days - our baby girl is weighing at 1 pound 9 ounces and our baby boy is at 1 pound 11 ounces. I can't remember the percentiles, but it was somewhere around 89 and 93 respectively (I'm pretty sure on the last one but not the first one). I guess the marginal cord insertion isn't hurting our baby girl...and hopefully, that continues. Next ultrasound will probably be on the same day as our next OB appointment which is on April 18, I believe. I still need to make the u/s appointment though.

Last time we had an ultrasound, our baby girl was laying head down on the right hand side of my belly while our baby boy was laying transverse with his head on the left hand side of my belly. Well, I guess our baby boy is finding that positions quite comfy because he hasn't moved while our baby girl decided to move into a breech position. I think all that movement I felt the other day from her might have been her getting into this new position though I wonder if it is a nice one as I can only imagine her brother might be hitting her head with his feet.

One thing I found kinda funny was that I was so super excited for this appointment but when she was measuring the cervix and the ovaries and such, all I wanted to do was fall asleep. I just wanted her to get to the excited part of the ultrasound! The ultrasound room is nice and dark so it would have been very easy for me to sleep there...but I didn't.

That's about if for the ultrasound appointment. A couple hours after the ultrasound appointment, we went to my OB appointment. The OB was pleased with the size of the babies - she actually seemed quite surprised at their size. She said that my belly is measuring to what a 30 week pregnant woman would look like with a singleton. She gave me the prescription to go to physical therapy. She told me last time to not take Tums because of my history and my family's history with kidney stones, but I (well, Jon actually tattled on me) told her I couldn't resist them - the heartburn is just too painful at times and it doesn't seem to matter when or what I eat. So she recommended that I take Zantac so I need to go pick up some of that and see if that helps. She said it will only get worse and if this doesn't help then she can prescribe some medication for this.

I also asked her about when I should consider slowing down at work and she said that maybe in 4-6 weeks, depending on how things look, I might go down to 30 weeks and then a little while after that (at 34-36 weeks, I think) I might want to stop working altogether. I mentioned this to my boss and I guess she was thinking of getting a temp into our office sometime in May (possibly the same guy that temped with us last summer that went through infertility and now is adopting a child from China), so it might work out just fine. Of course, when I got into work today, I learned that my duties are going to increase for a while to help out another coworker. I barely have the energy for the work I am doing, but I am going to try to do what I can.

Next time is when I have to do the glucose test by drinking that lovely juice. I hope I pass. :-D

One last thing, Jon and I went to the newborn care class at our hospital and I have to say that I liked this newborn class better than the multiples ones at UW. We actually got to practice on baby dolls - which may sound corny - but I appreciated it b/c then I could figure out swaddling since I've never done that before. The UW class was still good though!!!

Classes & More

Last night’s pregnancy exercise class was alright – it was nice to learn some exercises that I can actually do right now. One thing though – getting down to a mat and especially, back up from a mat – not exactly easy for me these days. I probably should do some of the exercises now while sitting at my desk especially since my back is really hurting right now, as are my hips. During last night’s class, we were talking about twins and twins running in the family, etc. when I mentioned that we did IVF and how our beta numbers were high so were thinking there was a good possibility it was twins so we weren’t entirely shocked when we heard the news. One of the ladies there then asked what a beta was. It’s interesting how I thought that this was a common term in the world of pregnancy, but maybe only those who have gone through infertility know this term?

Another thing that was mentioned last night was the possibility of swimming or some type of water exercise to help with pregnancy discomfort. I may need to look into this.

Anyway, our next ultrasound is getting even closer – yay! Tomorrow morning at 8 a.m.! Then at 11 a.m., we meet with the OB. Then our plan is to meet some of Jon’s coworkers for a birthday lunch they are having for one of the ladies there, so I’ll be getting into work quite late tomorrow. Unfortunately, I really do need to come into work so I can’t just take the day off.

Tonight, Jon and I are going to a class involving newborn care. Although I had already done this class through UW that specifically dealt with multiples, my husband didn’t get to go, so we are still going to tonight’s class (as well as others offered through the club membership through our hospital). It will be interesting to do a comparison between the two classes.

That’s all for now. Hope everyone is doing well!!!

A Variety of Topics

The massage yesterday was good though I’m not sure if I’m a big fan of the prego-pillow that was used. It was certainly nice to lay on my tummy, but toward the end there, the need to go to the bathroom was so strong that it made things a bit uncomfortable but I didn’t want her to stop the massage. Getting up from the pillow wasn’t exactly easy either. I think if I go a next time, I will ask to be massaged while lying on my side.

Tonight is the 2nd night of the 3 week-long series on keeping comfy during pregnancy. This week, the PT is talking about the pelvic area. Next week’s class will be better as we will actually do exercises.

A week from last night, my husband will take his last final this quarter and officially be on his spring break – I am so very much looking forward to that. Last night, he came home early and it was nice to have him there. We went to bed at the same time last night, which during the week that never happens. Our baby boy was moving around a lot last night and my husband got to feel him move. There really is nothing like that feeling – I was actually giddy feeling those movements. Our baby girl moved a little bit, but nearly as much as her brother. I love these babies so much – I can’t wait to see them again on the ultrasound.

My husband and I have been thinking of names lately and I think we might have our names, but we also want to have back-up names, so to speak, in case we see our babies and we think the other names fit them better. We probably won’t share the names until they are born as we want to keep something that only Jon and I know (though a couple people do know what their middle names will be).

Just a little while ago, I was looking for blogs of parents of twins so I can get an insight as to how their lives have been. I found quite a few listed on this site. While looking at some of the blogs listed, it made me start to think about a conversation I had with a friend a while back on whether I would change my blog name to something else once the babies come (if I even have time to blog). I feel like I should start a new blog (while continuing to link to this one) with a new title to something more centered on the babies than my struggles with infertility. Have others thought about this once their babies come?

Class & Other Stuff

TGIF. I still have half a day left, and I just don’t know if I’m going to make it. I didn’t get home until about 10:20 last night (which is late for me these days) – the class was supposed to end at 9:30, but it went a bit longer. Last night’s multiples class was on care of newborn twins (or other multiples) – it was a good class – she gave a bunch of handouts that I plan to read on the way home in the vanpool. She talked about stuff that we would need and how to recognize post-partum depression. She said that if you were prone to depression beforehand, then you have a higher chance of post-partum depression. She also showed us how to swaddle and bathe a newborn and some other stuff too.

While at class, we learned that a fellow classmate had her babies 2 weeks at 32 weeks!!! They weighed 2 pounds 11 ounces and 3 pounds 6 ounces. What tiny babies!!! Then a friend mentioned that her babies are measuring small and she’s been having a lot of contractions and was put on bed rest this past week and may have to continue with bed rest until the end of her pregnancy. She, like myself, would like to continue working until the time of delivery, so this is hard for her though, of course, she wants the best for her babies. I truly hope I am not put on bed rest, but if it’s needed, of course, I will do it!

Tomorrow morning, I’m going to a multiples group sale then after that a person I’m going to someone’s (who works closely with my employer) house in order to go through her baby boy stuff. Unfortunately, my husband can’t come with me so I’ll be going on my own unless I somehow talked any of my friends into going with me. After this, I plan to go home and rest as much as I can though I may try to clean the living room area by going through some magazines and deciding which ones to toss.

Then on Sunday, I’m going out to lunch with a support group friend who had her baby last year. I haven’t seen her since she left the group so it will be really nice to see her again. Hopefully, she brings her baby girl so I can meet her too!

Oh, to answer some questions regarding stair climbing – I can avoid the stairs around here – it’s just that sometimes I forget when I’m with a bunch of people and I just start going up the stairs though most of the time these days, I’m avoiding the stairs.

Oh, and some exciting news (at least to me), what I believe to be my little boy was moving a lot last night – including what felt like hiccups as each movement I felt seemed to be in a regular pattern. I love feeling them move.

O.K. one more thing – when we were at the OB’s yesterday, we got to hear the heartbeats – both babies are doing well thank goodness. She also checked my cervix which is where it is supposed to be. So we got good news yesterday.

Everyone have a good weekend!

OWWWW!

I was just sitting here eating my breakfast and drinking my water and my chocolate milk when all of a sudden this intense pain started in my belly that quickly radiated to my back. It hurt to move. Once things seemed to be quieting down, I called the OB’s office but while I was on hold, the pain came back again. The nurse I spoke to said that she thinks I should come in and get checked. The pain went away, but I keep having shooting pains in my vaginal area and as I’m writing this, I feel like the pain is going to start up again at any moment.

I’m scared, but hopeful that it isn’t anything big. Maybe I just need to rest. Just before this happened, I did climb a couple flights of stairs and I climbed a bunch of stairs last night after my class – maybe that’s what did it? I don’t know. It doesn’t look like the pain is coming back thank goodness. I’m waiting for my husband to come pick me up as I rode in the vanpool today.

The class last night wasn’t anything like I had expected. I had thought it would be more of an exercise class, but it was a lecture. The actual exercise doesn’t take place until the 3rd class, but last night’s class was still useful in trying to find ways to help the back not feel so painful – particularly ways to sleep to help alleviate back problems and the usual talk on posture while standing and sitting. Also, the PT recommended orthopedic inserts of which I should probably go find when I am looking for shoes that don’t squish my feet. Oh, and she also recommended compression stockings (especially if you stand a lot) though they can be quite expensive.

Well, that’s all for now. I’ll write more when I come back from the doctor’s office.

Pregnancy after Infertility & Update

Something I’ve been thinking about since yesterday’s anonymous comment and something my sister mentioned in her blog is whether one who goes through infertility gives up the chance to complain about something – anything regarding their pregnancy, even if you are only complaining about your insurance coverage of massage therapy. If we had been trying for nearly 5 years, does that mean that once I do become pregnant, I will have the most perfect pregnancy ever? Only those who had no problems conceiving can complain about their pregnancy? The last thing I want to do is hurt someone by complaining about something happening with this pregnancy, but I do want to write down what’s going on because I doubt I will ever experience pregnancy again and well, this blog is my journal.

Please know that I am incredibly happy that I am pregnant and with twins too and a boy and a girl! I am excited that it worked out this way because I know we wouldn’t be able to afford to do IVF again. However, just like any pregnant woman, I do have back pain (I even had back pain before pregnancy which is why I went to a chiropractor, an acupuncturist and to a spa for a massage); I do have swelling; I do have many of the other things that pregnant women experience. This blog is here for me to document what is happening to my body as we went through infertility and now, as we go through a pregnancy. Am I not supposed to be honest with what’s going on with my pregnancy just because I experienced infertility? It would seem to me something I should be allowed to do – especially since it’s my blog.

Also, I just want to point out that I rarely ever complain about this pregnancy. My back is usually the only thing that bothers me as it always has. My friends can probably tell you that when I see them, I don’t typically complain about it. I’m excited to show off the latest ultrasound picture or to talk about the latest kick or flutter I’ve felt (which I am starting to feel on a more regular basis, I think – so yay!!!!). I am grateful that I finally got pregnant. I do the happy, I’m pregnant dance all the time even when my back is killing me. I can’t believe my luck that IVF worked the first time. Of course, I rather it would have happened naturally, but unfortunately, that wasn’t in the cards for us. I’ve come to terms with that even if time to time I’m jealous of women who got pregnant with no medical help whatsoever and never had to experience the heartbreak of infertility.

Anyway, that’s all I’m going to say about that.

In other news, I’ve been doing a bit more things on my list of things to do including cleaning out my closet and getting rid of clothes I haven’t worn in possibly 2 years so my husband can move his stuff out of the closet in the babies’ room to our room. When I get back to my regular size, I probably won’t have any clothes to wear! That was tiring, but there is a lot more room in that closet now and I might just now get around to dry cleaning and packaging my wedding dress – it only took me 8 ½ years!

Next up, is to clean up the closet in the babies’ room and start putting away the clothes we got for them. I’m still looking for a dresser – I’m hoping I might be able to find something at the multiples group sales next weekend.

This weekend, my husband and I are going to purchase one more crib and the two car seats with the coupon we have for the big baby store chain so hopefully sometime soon, we can put the cribs together and start making the nursery look more like a nursery rather than a dumping ground for all the gifts we have received so far (mainly hand me down clothes) and the diapers we bought at Cos*tco when there was a coupon for that.

Hopefully, the 4 inches of snow we got last night/early this morning has melted so we won’t have to deal with that this weekend. I have a class I have to go to tomorrow and Saturday to keep up with the state bar requirements and it’s up north where they got even more snow so come on sun – melt that snow – at least on the roads.

Well, that’s a long enough post for now. Have a good weekend – I probably won’t be posting again until Monday unless something super exciting comes up before then. :-D

It's almost Friday!

I didn’t end up going to that psychology class last night. My back was killing me and Jon reminded me that it will probably be on UWTV at some point (which past classes of this series are), so I’ll just wait and this way, as Jon said, we could watch it together. If it wasn’t free, I would have went though.

I will be going to tonight’s multiples class on breastfeeding though as I did pay to go to this one, and well, it will definitely be something I would like to learn more about.

Something I forgot to mention (at least, I think I did) was that I felt a little fluttering early Wednesday morning. It was so cool to feel that! I want to feel that more, but I haven’t. :-(

Tomorrow morning is my next OB appointment – I’m looking forward to it as I know she’ll probably let us hear their heartbeats again – and believe me, I’m anxious to hear that sound again. For some reason, I just can’t let myself believe that everything is going to be o.k. while at the same time making plans like we will be having two babies this summer. It’s odd to feel and act that way.

Today I had lunch with a friend of mine – she made the trek from Seattle to Issaquah to have lunch with me – that was very nice. We had a nice lunch and I’m sorry it had to end. She and another friend are planning a baby shower for me (so, so very nice of them) so I need to figure out the guest list. It seems like the last Saturday in April may be the date…maybe. I haven’t heard definitely.

Class # 2 - Labor Prep.

So last night, I went to the 2nd class in the 5 class series (though it is really 6 since there is a preventing preterm birth class too). This class was about labor preparation. She didn't focus too much on having twins - she said she would talk more about that next time - but she did talk about it a little such as when the doctors would do a C-Section rather than a vaginal birth (of which my OB already informed me of).

She then showed us a video of women giving birth. The birth part was interesting though amazing that babies come out that way and these women did it without an epidural (of which apparently OBs would really recommend with a twin birth because of the possible complications involved - though I can't imagine doing this without an epidural even if it was just one baby in there). After the birth of the singleton baby, the mother then had to deliver the afterbirth and all I have to say is I didn't need to see that. I really didn't. And I get to do push out the afterbirth twice (assuming vaginal birth)! Yay!

Hmm, what else? After the video, she was showing us labor positions and breathing exercises of which we got to try out with our partner except I didn't have a partner - wow, did I feel awkward at that point. I did manage to find positions I could do without a partner, so it wasn't all too bad. Sitting on the ball was a fun position. A person in my van (vanpool girl) said that if I wanted her to, she would be my partner for the next class but I don't know if I need someone for the next one though I didn't think I would need anyone last night either. I was the only one there without a partner too.

Then after that, she talked a bit more about labor and delivery then had the men and women split up to write down what would things the male partner (or female) could say or do to the pregnant woman while she is in labor and things that they shouldn't say or do. The guys seemed to be having a good time with their list. After we compiled our lists, we shared with one another. Some things the guys came up with were don't ask when this will all be over because you're missing the game or what's for dinner. Tell her that she is doing well and beautiful and don't eat in front of her. We came with the last one as well as just be supportive physically and emotionally. Don't take things personally. Some other things I can't remember.

Then the last item of the night was one of the women showing us her "baby hugger" and how it worked. She said that it has made so much difference for her (she's at 28 weeks). Has anyone else used this or heard of someone who had? Did they like it? It looks silly, but it does look like it might help.

Today's Update...

I am so tired right now. So very tired. I need a nap so badly. Is it 4:30 yet so I can go home and take a nap? If only. And my back is killing me. I seriously need to look for one of those lumbar pillows to use at work. Luckily, I haven’t had much in the way of pelvic pain today so yay! I didn’t call the doctor yesterday like I meant to, and now I’m not feeling any pain, but I will call if it happens again.

On another topic, perhaps related to the back pain – every book I have and every e-mail I receive related to pregnancy says I should stop lying on my back. Lying on my back is bad and horrible! I like to lie on my back. And I should be lying on my left side, not my right. I go between lying on my side (either one) to my back. I think I need one of those body pillows or something to provide support to my back at night.

Regarding those multiples classes at UW I’ve mentioned a few times, they were nice enough to let me change the times I will be going to those classes from Apr/May to Feb/Mar, so for the next few Thursdays, I will be visiting UW (and will be really tired the next day at work). I also decided to go to a psychology lecture at UW about infants and children and symbolic understanding (psych was one of my majors – political science was the other one). It looks interesting and it’s free – that’s on the 21st of this month. February will be a busy month. Unfortunately, Jon won’t be able to go to any of these classes with me, but he said to go ahead and change the dates of the classes especially since before I knew about the multiples classes at UW, I had signed us up for some classes at Swedish and apparently, there are no refunds there.

I haven’t been keeping too up to date on my blog reading lately. I’ve been busy at work (most of the time) and I’m just too tired when I get home to do much on the computer except check my e-mail, so if I haven’t commented lately, don’t take it personally.

Owww – just as I was typing that last paragraph, I had what felt like a 2 second cramp – just this sharp pain. What the heck was that? That hurt!

Only 13 more days until our next ultrasound!!!

OB, Ultrasounds, Classes & More

I didn’t get a chance to blog yesterday because work was so busy (as was today up until this point), then I had the first “expecting multiples” class last night – so busy. Here are some things I wanted to talk about yesterday as well as some things for today…

First, I forgot about some things discussed at the OB visit the other day. She mentioned my weight. She asked what I weighed before pregnancy and it sounded as if she doesn’t think I’m gaining weight fast enough for twins. She said to eat 6 small meals throughout the day, but I’ve been pretty much doing that (most of the time), and I’ve gained maybe 2-3 pounds since my last appointment with the OB’s office. Last night at the class, the topic of gaining weight came up along with Dr. Luke’s book on Twins and other multiples. The teacher of the class says you should try to follow her recommendations as much as you can – which means if you are struggling to gain the necessary weight, then you should definitely eat more – perhaps protein bars or nuts or even those En*sure drinks, etc. So last night after the class, I was starving, and since she mentioned cheeseburgers, I wanted a cheeseburger so I got a cheeseburger even though it was past my bedtime (being 9:30 at this point).

She also mentioned exercise – that I should be walking 20-30 minutes a day. I am going to try to remember to bring my tennis shoes and walk around at lunchtime since when I get home it is still too dark and I just don’t want to walk around by myself in the dark. It would be nice if Greenlake would put up some lights for when it gets dark – I might go there after work.


Second, to answer some questions, the ultrasound place I’m going to is in Seattle on First Hill near Swedish. They seem o.k. from the one time I’ve gone there – we went there for the NT scan. By the way, the next ultrasound will be on February 12 at 8 a.m. – right at the beginning of my 18th week. They have got to see the gender then, right?

Regarding coping with multiples – I think it will definitely be hard in the beginning. As I’ve never had a child before and the closest I came to taking care of a child was my brothers and occasionally, my sister’s kids (very occasionally), I am incredibly nervous about just having one, let alone two. But I think we will make it work as so many parents before us have (ha – make it work reminds me of that guy on Project Runway). I don’t know how much blogging I’ll do once those babies come though. I’m not sure if that really answers the question, but I’m not exactly sure how we’ll manage, I just have faith that we will somehow.

Third, does the struggle one had with infertility ever go away? Vanpool girl is back to work as of this week and she, of course, was talking about her baby, and for some reason, this made me sad. I explained to a friend that night that I had to stop myself and ask myself why I was feeling that way – after all, I’m pregnant now…with twins. What do I have to feel sad about? It is hard for me to think of myself as pregnant sometimes, but most of the time, I am relishing being in this situation. I love that people are telling me I look pregnant. But I think the reason why I might be feeling sad now is that the twins aren’t here yet and I am still so nervous I might lose them. I’m only at 15 weeks now – I’ve got a while to go.

Finally, more about the class last night. The topic of discussion last night was “pregnancy with multiples”. The teacher started with going over administrative stuff, but quickly started us with a “getting to know each other” exercise. It actually wasn’t that bad – it was fun. And there was a couple from my support group there, so that was nice. Jon wasn’t able to come with me last night, and he probably won’t be able to come with me for any of these classes as I’m hoping to switch the classes from taking them in April/May to Feb/Mar. I’m waiting to hear back from UW about that. I hope I can switch though it would be nice if my husband could come. There are some classes I signed us up for at Swedish, so he should be able to go to those with me (at least, most of them). He is taking some classes at night M-Th this quarter.

Anyway, about the class. After the exercise, the teacher showed us some slides on how twins are created (which seems silly to me), but some other things she discussed were interesting – like nutrition, preterm labor and birth (of which I’m going to a class on 02/15 about preventing preterm labor and birth and recognizing the signs of), and things you should ask your doctor and how often your doctor should see you, which brings up a question. For those with twins, how often do you see your doctor? She was saying once every 2 weeks after 20 weeks. I’m trying to remember what my OB said about that. All I remember her talking about is how often I would be having ultrasounds (once a month). Right now, I’m set to see my OB every month, but I think (I think), after the next appointment, I will be seeing her more often though at the moment my schedule is to see her every month until April at this point. I need to ask her about that the next time I see her on the 23rd (which seems like an eternity from now – but thank goodness, we have that ultrasound on the 12th).

Hmm, what else? I can’t think of anything else about the class, so maybe I’ll think of more later. It was a good use of my time – I think the next few classes will be better as this seemed more like an introductory class.

One last thing - I've been having some bits of pain in my abdomen (and continuing with the pain in my hips - of which the OB suggested I might have to have physical therapy to help with that). The OB mentioned something about round ligament pain, which could be the cause of the pain. I keep meaning to look that up and find out exactly what that means. Oh, and I don't think I mentioned last time about the OB mentioning that since I had high blood pressure on the regular birth control pils before that I could have high blood pressure during the 3rd trimester, so they will be keeping a closer eye on that so hopefully, I won't have to be put on bedrest (which I really hope I don't have to do).

O.K. That's all for today. I may or may not write over the weekend. I need to continue cleaning my house and moving things around to make room to start the nursery. Also, I thought I would go to some consignment stores and see what they have - we'll see though (if any of my friends are interesting in going with me - let me know). We may be visiting my sister-in-law in Tacoma this weekend so that might take up a good chunk of one day.

Oh, and today, my dad has his kidney biopsy - things appear to have went well (which is what my sister told me). I'll need to call them later when I get home. O.K. enough for today!

OB, Class & More

Tonight I was going to go to a "pregnancy with multiples" class at UW, but it was cancelled and rescheduled for a couple weeks from now. The weather around Seattle is again crappy - snowy and icy so that's why it's cancelled. I was looking forward to it, but I guess I'll have to wait a couple more weeks for it.

I also have to wait another 2 weeks until the 24th for my next OB appointment. I can't wait for that either - another ultrasound opportunity! It's hard to wait so long in between ultrasounds - I love seeing them move around and making sure they are o.k.

This is my last week of my first trimester! I cannot believe it!